The What if?-Drabbles
by WeAreCylons
Summary: A/U, no attacks. What if Laura and Bill had met a long time ago, fell in love, got married and raised a family? Join the Roslin-Adama-Clan on their journey through life. - This is going to be a series of drabbles; the chapters are not posted in a specific chronological order; they're about the same family but each chapter can stand alone.
1. Coming Home

Disclaimer: BSG (2003) and all its characters involved are property of Ron D. Moore. I merely borrowed his play things to play a bit in his sandbox…

Enjoy, C! xxx

Bill entered the house unnoticed by any of the occupants. After getting rid of his clothes and shoes he made his way towards the living room - the place he assumed his family was in, since he could hear the loud voices of Kara and Zak coming from the area. However, when he passed the kitchen door, he knew that was only partially true; even though the door was closed he could smell the smell of freshly cooked food coming from that room. Quietly he opened the door; the smell intensified and now he also was provided with the vision of his wife kneeling in front of the oven, whilst Lee was standing at the worktop, chopping some vegetables. Bill did not have the chance to open the door wider, for it was pulled out of his hand and within a few seconds a small head collied with his lower body whilst a shrill voice shouted "Daddy, daddy!"

He laughed and scooped the little girl up in his arms.

"Hello sweetheart. I missed you!"

"Me too, Daddy!" and with that she leaned forward to press a kiss against his cheek.


	2. Fight

Disclaimer: BSG (2003) and all its characters involved are property of Ron D. Moore. I merely borrowed his play things to play a bit in his sandbox…

Enjoy, C! xxx

A grunt and Bill heaved his body around. He was now facing the backrest of the couch. His knees were bent awkwardly, his neck a bit stiff from the angle it was forced into by the armrest. Sleeping on a couch like this in his age, was a real pain in the ass.

She had offered to move into the living room, but he had refused to listen to her. He had had enough talking for a while, listening to excuses and explanations. He knew what he had seen and he knew how he was feeling at the moment.

Pain soared through his chest at that very moment. _"He caught me off guard. I never expected something like it to happen. I didn't kiss him back."_ Bill closed his eyes, they had become all watery. Tears now travelled down his cheeks. The image of his wife in the arms of another was still burned into his mind. Long, slim fingers grasping her back, hugging her tightly. Her hands holding his shoulders, her wedding ring glistening on her finger, where Bill had put it years before. He remembered that day well too; her face shining with happiness, his heart almost bursting through his chest with pride. But compared to the other image, it now seemed like a faint memory, a beautiful scene of a favourite film – touching to the core, but not real.

"Daddy?" a loud whisper brought him back to the present moment. Another grunt and he turned around again. Evelyn was standing in front of him, barefoot, wearing Zak's old Viper Pjs and holding her stuffed turtle in one hand. 'Shelley' had been a present from her siblings for her first birthday and ever since he had been her faithful sleeping companion.

"Daddy, why aren't you in bed with Mommy?" His sweet girl. Bill raised himself up into a sitting position, inviting his daughter to sit next to him on the couch. She instantly snuggled up against his body.

"Did I wake you sweetheart?" he asked and dropped a kiss onto her curly brown head.

"I heard you going down, but you never came back. Did you cry Daddy?" she continued inquiring.

Bill only took a short pause before admitting "Yes". He didn't see any reason in lying to his daughter at this moment. She must have seen the tears on his face anyway and he was far too deep down to pretend anything else. "Why?"

"Mommy and I have been fighting. We -...we had an argument and until we can't decide how to settle, I...I need some time for myself, to sort out my thoughts. You understand?" He just hoped it was enough of an explanation.

Eve pondered his words for a moment. "You mean like when Lee closes his door?"

"Yes."

Now she smiled up at him brightly. "But when I want to go to Lee, I can just knock. 4 times. He said that. But Zak and Kara don't know that!" Bill chuckled.

"You can always come to your Daddy too, you know that?" She nodded in reply.

For a short moment father and daughter just sat in companionable silence on the couch.

"Daddy?"

"Yes?"

"Mommy said, when I'm sad I can read something. She says, she did it, when she was young."

"Does it help?"

"Sometimes" the little girl admitted. But then she added with the air of someone who just had a striking, ground-breaking thought: "Maybe it helps when you read to me!"

He had to admit, his daughter's reasoning did help with taking his mind off other things. "Okay sweetheart. What do you want to hear?"

Quickly she popped off the couch, went to the bookshelf, grabbed a book and hurried back to her father's side. They made themselves comfortable again and then he started reading to little Evelyn, until they both fell asleep.

The latter part of that scenario repeated itself the following weeks, although Bill made sure, that he either send the girl back to bed before she fell asleep or he carried her back when she claimed her feet were far too tired to walk all the way up by themselves.

Neither of them noticed, that ever since the first night, another pair of ears had been listening to what they said.

Laura had been pretty much upset herself after Bill's move to the couch. She had been scared, sad, hurt and angry all at once. She was aware of how much his feelings must be hurt and after the rather nasty ending of his relationship with Carolanne, it was totally comprehensible why he felt and reacted the way he did. But she wasn't Carolanne! He knew her...how could he even for one second think she'd do something like that?! Richard had caught her off guard and now his actions were damaging her marriage, even though SHE had done nothing?

She had never been one to cry, but on that night, tears were falling from her eyes en masse, and she hated herself for it. She was innocent, gods dammit!...but Bill. Her Bill, her love. The only person she ever felt save to open up to; the only person she ever was able to commit herself to; they had a beautiful relationship, they knew and understood each other. It was her haven and suddenly everything was slipping through her fingers. Laura Roslin – Queen of broken relationships. But she was innocent this time.

In her frustration she had done something she hadn't done for ten years, she went into their en suite bathroom, opened the bottom drawer of her bathroom cabinet and pulled out an old wooden box she kept there. Inside, she had hidden her last cigarettes, for some reason whatsoever. She had taken one, and smoked it by the open window. It had been just what she needed to calm down. At the end though, with all her rage gone, she just felt empty, alone and sad. A feeling which wasn't helped much by the empty bed that greeted her upon returning into the bedroom. His pillow was gone. Of course, he had taken it with him. She laid down onto his side of the bed, and pressed her face into the place where his pillow should have been. The linen smelt like him.

She laid there for a while, crying silently and almost falling asleep, when she heard it: the hushed and far too loud whispers of a child. Her child.

Laura had pulled herself up and sneaked to the staircase. Since the stairs led directly into the living room, it was easy to hear what was being said downstairs from the top of the stairs. The children hated it, but Bill and Laura had soon figured out the advantages it had, for it also worked the other way round. Laura hadn't meant to eavesdrop on her husband's and daughter's conversation, but she couldn't pull herself away from their voices. He had started reading to Eve; when she closed her eyes she could even imagine the three of them sitting together on the couch downstairs. She and her daughter cuddling up against Bill's solid bulk, whilst he read to them. But the hard feeling of the railing against her back and the cold wood of the steps against her feet reminded her that such harmony would only exist in her imagination from now on...at least for a while.

Like the other two downstairs, she had fallen asleep on her spot on that first night. Simply too exhausted from the emotional uproar, she had allowed her husband's soothing voice to drift her off into dreamland. The following nights however, she had made sure to get back into bed before the others could notice her. She had no intention of intruding on their secret.

Surprisingly, she didn't feel jealous because her daughter had decided to seek out her Dad each night in order to work out the confusion she must feel too. No, Laura felt that it was just what those two needed at the time; but she also felt listening to them was what she needed. And thus it had become her ritual too, to sneak out of her room each night and sneak back again without anybody noticing it.

However, that situation was not supposed to stay that way. One night, after having listened to several reading times, Laura fell asleep again. The stress of the conflict and her daily work must have left her so tired that she fell into an especially deep slumber. She never heard Bill when he carried their daughter upstairs. Never heard the pause in his steps, when he stopped and he and Eve spotted her in surprise. Never heard his whispered "Sshh" to stop the girl from saying something that might have woken her up. Never felt him pass her on the steps as he continued his way to the girl's bedroom. She even never heard him close the door after tugging their daughter in and ensuring her, that he would make sure Mommy went to bed too. Only when he lowered himself down beside her, stroke back her hair from her face and said her name a few times, did she wake up.

At first Laura blinked confused, then an "Oh" escaped her, when she realised that she had been caught after all. Bill's face remained expressionless while he looked at her, but his eyes had lost the coldness they had been bearing all this time. The hurt was still there, but something else was back, it gave her hope. Before she could form another thought, he had lifted her up and was carrying her into the bedroom – their bedroom. Putting her down onto the bed, he went to close the door and then disappeared into the bathroom, without another word. Laura laid on the coverings, listening to him using the toilet and washing his hands afterwards. When he returned, they just stared at each other. It felt like eternity. Then he slowly approached the bed. Her heart had started hammering, all her fear suddenly turned into full hope. Their eyes were still locked and she saw her emotions reflected in his crystal blue eyes.

Bill lowered himself next to her onto the bed; all this time not once breaking eye contact with his wife's beautiful green orbs. He would follow those eyes anywhere, she just had to blink and he'd be ready to go. It was that moment, that short frequency of time, that he realised, she was the air his lungs needed to breathe, the blood his heart was bumping through his veins, the soul that kept his mind alive. She was like his religion, the faith he needed to believe in. She was his life, his heart and there was no way that terrible incident could make that change. It was in that very same moment that he realised he would forgive her.

Their hands found each others' faces. They now both knelt on top of the bed, foreheads touching, thumbs stroking cheeks. Both had started crying again. Words were exchanged; words of apology, soothing, reassuring and love. At the end their lips met and melted into heated and passionate kisses, soon followed by hands roaming each other bodies and rediscovering familiar ground. Bill laid down onto his back, pulling Laura on top, all the while never breaking their heated kiss. Soon they were moving in a shared rhythm; celebrating their healed love.

Afterwards they laid cuddled together, covered in sweat but both too reluctant to let go of the other. Only when Laura felt their mixed fluids running down her thighs and the pressure on her bladder increasing, did they force themselves to get up. Having cleaned up, they went back to bed. For a moment Bill startled Laura by moving to the door, however a quick explanation about his pillow reassured her of not having misunderstood anything. When he came back, he switched off the lights and finally settled back down with her beneath their blanket. Outside the clouds were moving, allowing the moonlight to break through. A single star was visible from where they slept with her back pressed against his bare chest, his hand resting on her hip and a smile gracing each face.

It was a beautiful night.


	3. The Great News

Disclaimer: BSG (2003) and all its characters involved are property of Ron D. Moore. I merely borrowed his play things to play a bit in his sandbox…

Enjoy, C! xxx

"Bill, we got to talk."

They had been strolling through _Caprica Central Park_ , enjoying the last rays of that day's autumn sun. He looked at her profile, she was obviously upset about something.

"What is it hon? You want us to take a seat?" he asked while pointing to an unoccupied bench a few feet away. Her facial expression unsettled him a bit.

Laura shook her head. "No." she said and looked at him. Reaching out with her right hand she cupped his cheek. One look at his face and she realised how much her statement caused him worry and distress – he had always worn his heart on his sleeve when it came to her or his other loved ones. Not that he would ever admit that, her cute soldier.

Suddenly Laura beamed at him, her face brightening up, eyes sparkling in the sunshine. "It's okay Bill, nothing to worry about." She leant in and kissed his lips.

"But what…?" he kept quizzing once she retreated again. "Honey," she took hold of his hand, "I'm pregnant." Two seconds. That's how long it took for the news to make sense in his head.

"That's…that's, Laura. I'm..." Both started laughing almost simultaneously. "I know!" She said.

"We're having a baby!"

"Yes! A little you!"

"With a lot of you in it!" He kissed her again. "I love you".

"Me too"


	4. They Won't Need You Anymore

Disclaimer: BSG (2003) and all its characters involved are property of Ron D. Moore. I merely borrowed his play things to play a bit in his sandbox…

Enjoy, C! xxx

"A baby?" Zak asked astonishedly.

They had decided to tell the children during dinner, before they were going to head over to Sandra's birthday party. Laura didn't want to steal her sister's light (you only turn 25 once in your life), but she also knew she wouldn't be able to hide the fact in front of her mother. Therefore, they had decided to pull their parent's aside during the party and tell them in private; the rest of the family would be informed at a later point, but the kids should know first. After all, this development would affect them the most.

"Yes. You're going to have a little brother or sister soon." Bill explained patiently.

"Can I see it?" Zak kept asking.

"No silly, it's in her stomach!"

Bill scowled at Lee. "Watch your language son."

"I would, but he's so dumb!"

"Am not!"

Laura, putting her hand on his, prevented Bill from getting angry with his boys.

"You will get to see it soon Zak. But Lee's right, the baby's in my womb, it'll grow in there for 9 months."

A smug grin spread across Lee's face. "You see!" he said to his brother. In reply, Zak stuck out his tongue. Lee groaned. "Please tell me it won't be another like him!"

Laura chuckled. "I can't promise." After a short moment, though, she added "However, chances are high it's going to be a girl. My mother only got girls, that often gets passed on." Three pairs of blue eyes beamed at her; it was obvious she had just given the Adama men at the table reason to have high hopes. Kara wasn't looking though. She had her eyes on her plates, focusing on the food. Worry spread through Laura, yet before she had a chance to inquire what was causing the girl to suddenly turn so silent, Zak again demanded her attention.

"And when the nine months are over, how will she come out of you?"

"They'll take her to hospital and the doctors will pull her out. They did that with you." On a secondary thought, she noted her surprise on how good Lee's memory was, considering the fact he had been 3 ½ when his brother was born.

Zak's eyes grew wide. "Really?!" He turned away from his brother and looked between his father and Laura. "Well, he made it sound a bit disgusting," Bill cast his older son a stern look, "but yeah, that's how it usually is done."

"Naomi told me, they also cut open the mother's belly!" Lee added. That new information did it for Zak. He obviously was about to panic. "Okay, that's enough" Laura said and stood up from the table. "That won't happen sweetie," she directed towards the younger boy, "Now, who wants some ice cream? Bill, will you give me a hand?" The prospect of ice cream had the hoped-for effect and Bill was more than happy to help her.

Inside the kitchen, Laura took out the bowls from the cupboard, whilst Bill went to fetch the ice cream from the freezer. "So, you really think it's going to be a girl?"

"Yes. Well, probably." she smiled at him and then held out the first bowl for him to fill. "Did you notice Kara?"

Bill furled his eyebrows when trying to recall the girl's reaction. "...she was rather quiet," he then noted.

"She was." Laura confirmed.

"You think it was because of the baby or something-" a shout, followed by a loud bang interrupted his musings. "What the?!"

Irritated, both adults rushed back into the dining room.

As soon as their father and Laura had left the room, Zak turned his attention to Kara.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing!" she snapped back.

Lee turned and began to study her with his thoughtful look, too.

"Then why aren't you talking?" A dark look directed at Zak made him stop questioning. He had long learned when it was time to take Kara's warnings serious. Instead he shrugged. Looking back towards his brother he said "I do hope it's going to be a girl."

The question triggered something in Lee's brain. Suddenly he understood. "Yeah. A little girl," he said. Kara felt his eyes on her, he was testing her. "Kara doesn't want them to have that baby, do you?"

"Why?" Zak was confused by what was going.

She didn't answer, just kept on poking around in her food with her fork.

Gleefully Lee said, "They won't need you any more if it's a girl, a real daughter!"

"Shut up!" Kara had jumped so fast, both boys startled in surprise. The quick motion had thrown over her chair, it landed on the wooden floor with a loud thud.

"What the?!" All three heard Bill's enraged rumble from the kitchen. As fast as she could, Kara darted from the dining room and ran upstairs into her room.

The boys were still looking after her when the adults came back into the room.

"What happened?" Bill demanded to know, his voice still enraged.

"Where is Kara?" Laura instantly added to his question in an equally upset manner.

Lee refused to look at both of them, instead focused on his table set. Zak was the one to answer. "She ran upstairs." his voice was rather quiet.

"Why?" Laura instantly asked.

Zak hesitated. Neither Bill nor Laura missed his quick glance at his brother, but Lee still wouldn't meet anyone's eyes. Zak swallowed, "Lee...he said something...". He obviously was insecure about what to do.

"What did you say?" Lee flinched at his father's words. They came out a bit harsh and Laura sympathised with the boy.

She went over to where the boy sat and put a hand onto his shoulder. "Lee?" she tried in a much gentler voice. He still didn't speak, but she now noted that he had tears streaming down his face. Rubbing his back softly, she looked questioningly at the youngest Adama.

Zak nodded, understanding her silent command. "We talked about the baby and Lee said if you have a girl you don't need Kara anymore. You will have your own girl."

Lee winced when his father shouted "What?!"

Laura felt the boy shaking under her hand – he had started sobbing.

"Bill," she instantly reacted, "go and look after her, okay?"

"Laura, we can't just-"

"It's alright!" she interrupted him, "I got this. Just go and check on Kara."

Even though rage was still pumping through his body, he agreed and left the room too.

"I'm sorry." Lee whispered weakly in a shaking voice.

"I know.", Laura said reassuringly. For a short moment the three of them just sat at the table saying nothing. Allowing the boy to calm down. When he raised his sleeve to dry his face from the tears, Zak started to speak. "H-", however Laura's raised hand cut him off. Shaking her head she motioned him to stay quiet.

"Do you want to tell me what made you say it?" she asked softly. "Hm?"

After some more sniffling he started, "Dad likes her more than me."

"Oh Lee. What makes you think that?"

"In Pyramid, he's always going on about how great she is! Yesterday, he told everybody how proud he was of her. You can ask the others! It's never me!" he got a bit loud saying the last parts.

"Sshh." Laura calmed him down. "Listen – both of you," she added with a glance at the other boy, "your father is immensely proud of you. Both of you. You are his sons and he loves you, there is no one who could replace you or take that away from you. But at the same time, he also loves Kara. Okay, he loves the three of you equally and uniquely. Get that?"

"Yes!" Zak confirmed without doubt. Lee however looked at her, "Are you sure?" he asked.

Laura pretended to be offended, "Are you calling me a liar, mister?" The boys laughed. Lee shook his head and hugged her. "It's okay," she said. An encouraging look was enough and Zak hurried around the table to join their hug.

Getting Kara to talk proved to be a more demanding task.

The girl had closed herself off, nothing really unusual, but it had been quite a while since she had done that the last time with him. Bill had sat down on the side of her bed, stroking her side patiently and just waited for her to come around. She lay facing the wall, so he was unable to see her face, but from the occasional shaking of her body Bill knew she was crying.

After about 10 minutes she finally turned around. His assumption had been right: her face was red and very wet from the tears she had shed. It made his heart ache seeing her like that.

"Kara, I know what Lee said to you,-"

"Please don't send me away!" Her face looked haunted, her plea had been desperate. Bill felt another pang in his heart. His own eyes started to fill tears.

He placed both of his hands on the girls shoulders, eyes boring into hers. "We would never do such a thing, nothing in these worlds could make us give you up. Ever! You're our daughter, Kara, you're part of our family and we love you!"

"But, when you have a real daughter... do you really still want me then?" Her pitch was shriller than usually.

Bill pulled her towards his chest, holding her in a tight hug. "We are going to have another child; an addition to the five of us, but not a replacement for any. I promise." To give his words more weight he pressed a kiss onto her head. They remained in that position, the girl holding on to him very tightly. Only when they heard a knock on the door did they let go of each other.

"Yeah." Kara called, her voice still shaking a bit.

The door opened, revealing Laura and the boys. "Can we come in?", she asked carefully. Bill cast a sideglance at the girl, then nodded. "Sure!"

Shoving in the boys, Laura bent down and picked up a tray they had positioned in the hallway. To Bill's secret delight, the three of them had brought the ice cream bowls upstairs.

Zak immediately went to sit on Kara's other side, whilst Lee stood hesitatingly in the middle of the room. Laura carried the tray to the bed and knelt down on the floor with it. "We still haven't had dessert" she said with a warm smile. As if on cue, Lee followed her and picked up one of the bowls, handed it to Kara, saying "I'm sorry." The girl accepted with a quiet "Okay...thanks."

The adults' eyes locked onto each other, expressing their shared relief about how easily children were able to resolve a fight.


End file.
